For decades, the players kept getting smarter and Trebek matched their pace. As host, he was even handed, definitive and endlessly composed.
Answer: The greatest game show host of all time. Question: Who is Alex Trebek? A handful of game show personalities have become icons. Vanna White somehow elevated turning lettered tiles to an art form on “Wheel of Fortune.” “The Price is Right” host Bob Barker made skinny microphones, spaying and neutering pets, and Adam Sander cool (see Barker’s work in “Happy Gilmore”). But nobody had the swagger, smarts and cultural cachet of Alex Trebek — who else could make tweaking facial hair so captivating? Trebek, who died Sunday at the age of 80 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, captained “Jeopardy!” for a record-setting 36 years. During that time he transformed an entire TV genre. Before Trebek, viewers at home often came up with correct answers ahead of the actual contestants — millions shouted “It’s ‘A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed’” at the screen while a dumbfounded contestant looked to buy a vowel.
